Fruit-sizer.



H. B. GARY.-

FRUIT SIZBR.

APPLICATION FILED, AUG. 27, 1906.

Patented Aug. 24, 1909.

HENRY B. EARY, F L ANGELES, GALIFORNEA.

rains-sizes.

Specification of Letters Patent. Patellteui Aug, 24, llilflQ.

Application filed August 27, 1906. Serial No. 832,299.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, HENRY BoUNDs CARY,

a citizen of the United States, residin at Los v fruits all of one-size and separate them from fruits of all other sizes and deposit them in a separate receptacle without juring the same.

Another object of myinvention is to proruising or invide a machine of the character above described which will require little power to operate it and will at the same time size great quantities of fruit.

Another object is to provide a fruit sizer which will continuously and rapidly rotate the fruit during its travel along the gradeway whereby every diameterpf the fruit is presented .to the sizing or separating mechanism so that each fruit Wlll be segregated from the other fruits according to its largest diameter and deposited into its proper rece tacle.

'1 1e invention will be more readily understood by reference to the accompanying 3'0 drawin s which illustrate my invention and in'whic Figure 1 is a plan view of my fruit sizer. Fig. 2 is a diagrammatic view shbwing the arrangement of the separating means at graduated heights above the conveying Fig. 3 is a detail view of the sepa means. rating means or sizing brush and the adjusting means therefor, taken on line w :n Fig. 1. Fig. 4 is a detail view of the sizing brush and adjusting means, being arranged to bring the sizing brush into contact with the fruit in such manner as to insure the lifting of the fruit from the conveying means. Fig. 5 is a detail view showing means for 4-5 usin flat belts.

1 is the bed of thesizer upon which are carried the traveling belts 2 and 2.

3 is a rotating circular separating or sizing member carried in a swinging support 4.

5 is a belt for rotating the sizing member 4.

6 is a pulley mounted upon a shaft 7 which is mounted in suitable bearings such as 8 and is driven by means of the main power shaft tudinal y of the bed of the sizer.

. 9, power being derived from suitable power means, (not shown,) through the pulley 10.

Motion is given to the traveling belts 2, 2 by means of the ulleys 11 and 12 mounted on the ower shatt 9 to drive the belts longi- The pulley llis herein shown as being of more than twice the circumference of the pulley 12 thereby giving to the belt 2 more than twice 'the'speed of the belt 2.

The belts 2, 2 travel in a grooved plate on the bed of the machine which may be provided with uard rails 13, 13 on the sides of the groove plate. Outlets or notches 14 corresponding to the points at which the sizing brushes 3 are hung, are provided in one of the guard rails opposite the point of supportoi the brush.

15 is a hand wheel and'16 a screw. screwlfi passes through a screw threaded opening inthe swinging support l, at 17 and its end rests upon the bed of the machine, a metal plate 18 being preferably provided for the end to rest u on.

In Figs. Sand 4 I ave shown the rotating surfaceof sizing or separating member made of wire with the ends of the wires curved or bent backwardly from the line of rotation as at 19. Other material may be used on the surface of the rotating members which will adord the proper or necessary frictional contact withthe fruit. In Fig. 5, 20 and 21 represent flat pulleys actuated by gears meshing together to drive flat belts 20, 21. These flat belts may be substituted for the round belts or ropes 2, 2 if desired.

22, 22 represent fruits passing along the grade-way.

23 represents chute to direct the fruit onto the grade-way;

24 and 25 are loose pulle s on a shaft 26 su ported in bearings 27 an 28.

n operation the fruits are delivered into the grade-way from a hopper (not shown) through the chute 23, and are carried by the belts 2, 2 toward the foot or tail of the machine. The belt 2 being actuated by and running over the pulley'of larger circumference, has a greater speed than the belt 2 which is actuated by and runs over the ulley of smaller circumference and there ore the fruits which are carried forward by these The.

. the separation by such 1p ztlrticular separating at different distances means or brush of any it having a diameter corresponding to its grade. In other words, the graders, orse arators are located om the conveyor along the length of .the same, andeach separator'is arranged to contact or engage with the fruit at a point at one side'of a vertical plane through the longitudinal center of the conveyor. y constructin the machine in this mannereach individua fruit is only engaged by the grader which removes it and it is engaged at a point below its top so as to be possibilit lifte up over the side of the conveyor and removed therefrom by said grader without the of the fruit being squeezed or rui'sed t ereby in any manner.

In Fig. 1 it will be noted that the ropes or belts 2, 2' converge slightly so that they run they a proach the separating means vided r lifting them off the belts.

nearertogether at the tail of the machine than at the head. By this slight divergence from actual parallehsm' I rovide for the oranges resting between the elts while being carried 'forward toward the tail of the machine. Thus the largest sizes of oranges rest down between the belts 2, 2 so that the arc of the orange resting1 between thebelts is sufficient to prevent t e oranges from rolling off the belts. As the belts converge toward the tail of the machine the smaller size oranges are gradually raised on the belts as us when the separation takes place a corresponding-ar'c of the orange, regardless of size, rests on and between the belts.

It will be noted that as the belt or rope 2 travels more rapidly than the belt 2, the oranges are given spiral rotation on the belts and away from the outlets 14. Any unevenness or bumps on the orange tending to throw the orange off the belts will therefore throw the orange against the guard or rail 13 and away from the outlets. Large oranges on the belts 2, 2- may be followed by oranges of smaller size. I

The separating means which contactswith the large size orange will not contact with the orange of smaller size following such large orange and the spiral rotation given to the oranges on the belts revents the small orange being thrown off t e belts and out the outlet with such large orange, thus insuring the carrying of the small orange along the I size. es to be pregrade-way until it finds its proper grade or Having thus described my invention, I

claim,

.1. A fruit sizer" having conveyin means consistin of two members traveling orizontally at iflerentspeeds, and rotatingseparatin means arranged thereabove at graduated' eights, said separating means having their axes parallel with the conyeyer and their. peripheries arranged to contact with thefruits at the sides of the fruits and push such fruits off transversely from the conveying means.

2. A fruit sizer havin a carrier com osed fruit an means for adjusting the heights of said separating means.

3. A fruit sizer having a carrier composed of two members traveling horizontally at dif ferent s eeds, a series of rotating brushes mounte at graduated heights above said carrier, said brushes mounted to lift the fruits from said carrier by contacting with the fruits on said carrier at the sides of the fruits, and means for adjusting the heights of said brushes.

4. A fruit sizer having a carrier composed of two belts mounted to travel horizontally, driving pulleys for said belts, one of said pulleys being of largerv diameter than the other to cause one belt to travel more rapidly than the other, and brushes mounted in ad'ustable frames along the paths of and a ove said belts in osition to engage with fruits carried by said carrier below the tops thereof and lift the fruits therefrom.

5. A fruit sizer having conveying means consisting of two converging members traveling horizontally at different speeds, rotating separating means arranged t ereabove at graduated heights, and means, at the outer sides of said conveying means, for insuring the retention of theiruit thereon, provided with outlets, said separating means arranged to engage with the fruits at the sides and-below the tops thereof and to lift the fruits from the conveying means when the fruits arrive o posite sai outlets.

6. A ruit sizer havin a fruit carrier traveling horizont lly" an rotary separating means arrange at the side of the center of said carrier and at graduated heights above the same the axis of each separator being parallel with the carrier and its peri hery arthe sides of said grade-way, Outlets provided In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set in one of said guards, the belt nearest said my hand at Los Angeles California this 17th 10 outlets traveling at greater speed than the .day of August 1906.

other belt, and rotary brushes arranged at 5 graduated heights above said belts at said HENRY CARY 0ut1ets,.said brushes arranged to contact with In presence of the fruits on said belts and'lift them ofi FREDERICK F. LYON,

therefrom. FRANK L. A. GRAHAM. 

